Source: New Zealand Government
A Deed of Settlement has been signed between the Crown and Ngāti Paoa settling the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of the iwi, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little announced today.
“While no settlement can fully compensate Ngāti Paoa for what has been lost, a wide range of redress has been negotiated to provide for the historical and cultural recognition of Ngāti Paoa and to regrow their economic base to provide for Ngāti Paoa’s future prosperity,” Andrew Little said.
Ngāti Paoa will receive redress that includes the return of twelve sites of cultural significance and financial and commercial redress valued at $23.5 million, along with a wide range of other commercial, cultural and relationship items.
The Deed of Settlement includes an apology from the Crown to Ngāti Paoa for its failure to protect them from the rapid alienation of land in the decades following the signing of te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi, the loss of life and the devastation caused by hostilities, and the enactment of laws and policies that have led to the loss of whenua and te reo Māori.
“The Crown seeks to atone for these injustices and hopes that through this settlement it can rebuild the relationship that it established with Ngāti Paoa in 1840, begin the process of healing and enter a new age of co-operation and partnership,” Andrew Little said.
The Deed of Settlement acknowledges that the confiscation of land by the Crown, the impact and operation of the native land laws and Crown purchasing left Ngāti Paoa virtually landless and undermined their economic, social and cultural development. The Crown’s failure to ensure that Ngāti Paoa retained sufficient land for their present and future needs was a breach of te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.
“The Crown acknowledges that until today it has failed to deal with the long-standing grievances of Ngāti Paoa and that recognition of, and redress for, these grievances is long overdue,” Andrew Little said.
Ngāti Paoa is a member iwi of the Hauraki, Marutūāhu and Tāmaki collectives and has approximately 3,500 members according to the 2013 Census.
The settlement redress will be administered the by Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust, the post-settlement governance entity, elected by iwi members.
A copy of the Deed of Settlement is available at www.govt.nz/treaty-settlement-documents/ngati-paoa/.
Kua waitohua he Whakaaetanga Whakataunga i waenga i te Karauna me Ngāti Paoa e whakatau ana i ngā kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi a te iwi nō mai rā anō, i kī te Minita mō ngā Take Tiriti, a Andrew Little, i tēnei rā.
“Ahakoa e kore rawa e taea a Ngāti Paoa te paremata katoa mō ngā mea kua ngaro, kua whiriwhirihia te whānuitanga o te puretumu hei tuku i te āhukahuka ā-hītori, ā-ahurea ki a Ngāti Paoa me te whakatupu anō i tō rātou taha ōhanga me te hanga i tō Ngāti Paoa taurikura ā muri ake,” te kī a Andrew Little.
Ka whiwhi puretumu a Ngāti Paoa kei roto ko te whakahokinga o ētahi pae tekau mā rua e hira ā-ahurea ana, me te puretumu ahumoni, arumoni hoki e $23.5 miriona te uara, me te whānuitanga o ētahi atu rawa arumoni, ahurea, hononga hoki.
Kei roto i te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga he whakapāha nā te Karauna ki a Ngāti Paoa mō tōna kore aro ki te whakamarumaru i a rātou i te ngaromanga o ngā whenua i runga i te ohorere i ngā ngahuru tau mai i te hainatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi, mō te hekenga ā-toto me te mahi whakamōtī i te whenua i muri i ngā kakari, me te whakamanatanga o ngā ture me ngā kaupapahere i ngaro ai i a rātou te whenua me te reo Māori.
“E hiahia ana te Karauna ki te whakatikatika i ēnei hē nui me te tūmanako mā roto i tēnei whakataunga ka puāwai anō te noho whanaunga me te haere kōtui i tūmanakotia ai e Ngāti Paoa me te Karauna i te tau 1840, e hua ake ai te mahi whakarauora me te mahi tahi,” ko te kī a Andrew Little.
E whakaae ana te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga nā ngā mahi raupatu whenua a te Karauna, nā te pāpānga me te mahi o ngā ture whenua Māori me ngā hokonga whenua a te Karauna, i noho tata whenua kore a Ngāti Paoa, i raru ai hoki tō rātou whanaketanga ā-ōhanga, ā-iwi, ā-ahurea hoki. Ka noho ko te korenga o te Karauna i whakahau tikanga i puritia ai e Ngāti Paoa he whenua nui tonu mō rātou i roto i ngā tau, mō ngā rā hoki e heke mai nei, he takahitanga nui i te Tiriti o Waitangi me ōna mātāpono.
“Kei te whakaae te Karauna tae mai ki tēnei rā kīhai anō i tatū i a ia ngā nawe tūroa a Ngāti Paoa, ā, kua roa rawa hoki te tāringa a te iwi ki te whakawā me te whakatika i aua nawe,” te kī a Andrew Little.
Nō ngā tōpūtanga o ngā iwi o Hauraki, Marutūāhu me Tāmaki a Ngāti Paoa, ā, kei te takiwā o te 3,500 ōna mema e ai ki te Tatauranga 2013.
Ka āhei te tiki tārua o te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga i www.govt.nz/treaty-settlement-documents/ngati-paoa/
